Tom Aspinall’s dad doesn’t want him to re-sign with UFC: ‘Boxing for sure’

UFC Heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has only been on the UFC roster for five years.

The English knockout artist joined the promotion in July 2020, debuting a quick knockout win over Jake Collier. Up until

Jon Jones stranded him on the sidelines for months and months, Aspinall consistently managed two fights a year, bringing his overall UFC record to 8-1. He’ll compete in the Octagon for just the tenth time this weekend (Sat., Oct. 25, 2025) as the main event of UFC 321 opposite Ciryl Gane in the first attempted defense of his undisputed Heavyweight crown.

If his father, Andy Aspinall, has his way, however, “Big Tom” won’t be breaking any longevity records. While speaking with RMC Sport Combat, the elder Aspinall revealed that his son only has three fights left on his UFC contract and that he’s in no hurry to see him re-sign with the world’s top fighting promotion. Instead, he’d rather see his son chase greater paychecks in the boxing ring.

“Boxing for sure,” Andy Aspinall answered when asked if he would prefer Tom be an MMA or boxing champion. “The money is more money. He has three more fights on the contract, and I don’t want to sign a new contract personally.”

Andy is more than just a father in this situation, as he’s also Tom’s head coach and manager. In addition, he’s mentioned more than once that seeing his son leave combat sports healthy is his ultimate goal, and Aspinall could definitely earn greater paychecks in fewer fights if able to cross into the ring. Look at Francis Ngannou, for example. “The Predator” may have lost both of his boxing matches, but he would’ve had to compete in the Octagon a couple dozen times to make the same money.

Nobody is paying MMA fighters $20 million.

Tom Aspinall has also sparred quite a bit with the likes of Tyson Fury, so perhaps that’s another source of confidence for his father. Either way, negotiating could get real interesting in the next year or two, and perhaps the Paramount deal will help UFC match those mega boxing purses … if Aspinall is still the king after three more fights.